Take Flight
by followtheechoes
Summary: Lily Evans made a mistake and she had to stop herself from making an even bigger one. Follow her as she rights the wrongs of her childhood and sets course on a future with the man she should have chosen.
1. Chapter 1: Church Bells

**Author's Note:** I've never understood why Lily chose James. So here is how I think it should have gone. Obviously I own nothing in the Harry Potter universe, just my plot.

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**Chapter One:** Church Bells

Lily looked at her reflection in the mirror and barely recognised the person who looked back at her. She never wore much make up, she had never seen the point, but that day it had all but changed her features. It felt heavy on her face but it was certainly not the only thing weighing her down. Her heart weighed her down far more than anything else ever could have. She felt lost.

That was not exactly the feeling she had been expecting on her wedding day. Dressed in white, a bouquet sitting on the table by the window waiting for her. A sixpence, something borrowed, something blue. And a thousand doubts that she had never expected to be feeling, drowning her in thoughts that she might be making the wrong choice.

She remembered the conversation she and Molly had undertaken in whispered tones the previous day.

* * *

"Did you have any.. doubts.. when you married Arthur?" Lily has asked her cautiously, almost afraid to even hint at the things that had been running through her mind.

"Honestly? No." Molly had sighed softly, as if she didn't know if she was about to make this better or worse for her friend. They had met through the Order and had struck up a firm friendship right away. "I all but ran to him, my dad had to hold me back to walk with some level of dignity," she had remembered with a little laugh.

Lily had looked away from her, feeling ashamed. That wasn't what she felt and the way Molly talked about it, it sounded like the most right thing in the world to feel the way the older redhead had on her wedding day.

"What's wrong, love?" Molly had asked, reaching out for her hand in a comforting way. "Are you having doubts about James?"

"About my whole life, Mol," Lily had confessed before she could stop herself. She had made a lot of choices and she was not sure how she felt about any of them any more. "What do I do?"

Molly had thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to help her friend. "You have to make a decision, Lil. One that you can live with."

Lily had known she was right, it was not about what was expected of her it was about building herself a life that she wanted to live. But that did not make it any easier to figure out what it was that was right for her or what her heart truly wanted.

* * *

As she looked at her reflection she frowned, feeling like a traitor. Not to anyone else but to herself. Was becoming Lily Potter what was meant for her? Was that what would make her happy? She didn't know.. or if she did she did not admit it to herself.

"Lily? It's time to go."

She turned at the sound of the voice that should have belonged to her father. But he had died the previous year before he could walk his youngest daughter down the aisle. She gave a rather forced smile and got to her feet, picking up the bouquet of flowers before walking over to Remus. She would walk alone down the aisle towards her future, but he had sworn he was not going to let her go to the ceremony alone. He was a wonderful friend, one she cherished.

"You look beautiful," he told her with a genuine smile and she could not help smiling back, for real this time.

"You scrub up quite nicely yourself," she replied with a little laugh, making him roll his eyes at her.

He offered her his arm and she looped hers through his, feeling the pull of apparition a moment later. She closed her eyes and embraced the feeling, the only way it would not make her feel queasy. She opened them again to see the place they had chosen for the ceremony. The gardens of Potter Manor, his parents' home. They were out of sight of where everyone was seated and waiting, she was glad about that.

Lily caught the way Remus was looking at her and found she could not meet his gaze. As with all things she was sure he knew her well enough to see what was written all over her face.

"You don't have to do this."

Those were the last words that she had been expecting from him and she looked up, startled. He was looking back at her with an expression of concern.

"I don't-"

"Lily, you don't have to lie. Not to me." And she knew he was right. If there was anyone in the world she did not need to lie to, someone who would always listen and try to understand, it would be him. Her eyes began to fill with tears and she found that she didn't have the words to explain her thoughts.

"If you don't want to do this then don't. I love James, he's one of my best friends, but I love you too and I'd hate to see you do something you'll regret." Remus reached out and held her hand, giving her a little smile of reassurance. "I think we both know who you want to be standing in his place."

For a moment she could hardly breathe, feeling exposed that he saw her so well as to know what she had not even let herself vocalise. She loved James but she loved someone else more.

"How do I tell him? How do I let all those people down?" she whispered, her hands shaking.

"Right now? You don't. Go, Lily. You know where you want to be, you don't need anyone's permission."

But she did and he had given it to her, whether that had been his intention or not. She threw her arm around him in a hug, dropping the flowers onto the path in the process. "Thank you" she whispered in his ear, meaning it with all her heart. And with that she let go of him, gave him a smile through her tears and she apparated away.

When she reappeared it was outside a rundown little house. She knocked before she could change her mind, knowing the wards would already have told him she was there. The door opened and he stood there, looking at her in complete surprise and uncertainty.

"Hello, Severus."


	2. Chapter 2: Reconnect

**Author's Note: **Thank you for the lovely reviews! I will post a chapter at least once per week, life permitting. More often if the mood takes me, like it did this week!

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**Chapter Two: Reconnect**

When the wards had alerted him that someone was there, the last person Severus had expected to see was the redhead he had grown up with. Certainly not wearing a wedding dress. He stared at her for a few moments, his brain spinning its wheels as he tried to comprehend the fact that she really was standing there in front of him.

How long had it been since he had seen her? Since they left Hogwarts, so just over a year. But she had not spoken to him since their fifth year when, in a fit of anger and shame, he had called her something that he never should have. He had not meant it, had not intended to ever use that word against her, but it had happened and he could not take it back. He had been so sure she would forgive him in the end but with all her fellow Gryffindors whispering in her ear she never had.

"Lily... what are you doing here?" It sounded stupid even to him, but he didn't know what else to say to her.

And as she stood there, tears in her eyes and a look of determination on her face, he found he didn't care why she was there. All that mattered was that she was there.

"I couldn't do it, Sev. I couldn't marry him." She watched as his eyes widened in surprise but she saw something else, a little glimmer of hope. If he cared enough to hope then maybe she had something of a chance, no matter what had happened in the past.

"He didn't deserve you anyway," he replied with a sneer. There was no love lost between him and James Potter and the fact that Lily had run to his enemy had broken him more than if she had simply ended their friendship. The person who had tormented him constantly, made his life hell, did not deserve the person that he had loved since he was old enough to even begin to know what love was.

A little snort of laughter left her entirely without her meaning it. "It's not that he did something wrong, he just wasn't.." She trailed off, wondering how best to finish that sentence. Did she dare lay her heart on the line?

"Wasn't what?" he asked cautiously, his heart pounding in his chest. Why was he so nervous? It felt like he was fourteen all over again, falling more in love with his best friend with every moment that went by and finding his heart racing each time she so much as looked at him. Things had happened since then, things he was not proud of. Would she still want to know him if she knew?

"You, Severus. He wasn't you."

For the first time in a long time he smiled, the kind that reached his eyes. It had only ever really been Lily had that been able to get him to smile like that. He had never felt safe around other people, not enough to let a little of his inner self show. There were perhaps three other people in the entirety of the world who knew him, truly knew him. And even then they did not get as close as Lily.

"Do you truly mean that?" he asked, daring to really hope for the first time in years. She smiled and nodded, sending his heart into backflips. "What now?" he asked slowly.

"Now... I hope you'll forgive me for cutting you off. I always did tend to go rather scorched earth..." She blushed, feeling ashamed of the way her temper had always managed to get the best of her. "The longer it went on the harder it felt to go back.. and then the thing with Mulciber and Mary... and I just... I'm sorry, Sev." A lot had happened during that time, things that had stopped her from fixing the biggest mistake that the two of them had ever made.

"I will if you forgive me for what I called you." Merlin, he had hated himself ever since that day. What did he care about blood supremacy anyway? It made no difference. The brightest witch of their generation was Muggleborn and he himself was a Halfblood.

Lily reached out, her fingertips tracing over his cheek as she looked up at him. "You didn't mean it and I know that now." A word said in anger was not worth all of what it had cost them. It was half her fault and half his.

His hand settled over hers as he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. This was real, she was real. And Merlin it felt wonderful to have something he had thought might never be his. He had never been able to conjure a patronus before, not a corporeal one anyway, but now? Now he felt like he had the perfect memory to use.

When he opened his eyes again he realised they were standing on the doorstep as if this was something the world needed to see. "Maybe we should go inside," he said with a wry smile, making her laugh at the realisation that this had all taken place right there. She let him lead her inside and paused when she caught a look at herself in a mirror on the wall.

Severus followed her gaze and found himself commenting, "You don't look like you." He cursed inwardly at his comment, not wanting to offend her when he had only just got her in his life.

But she nodded in agreement, a little sigh leaving her lips. "No, it's true. I think I forgot myself for a while there." She pulled out her wand and waved it over herself, leaving her face free of make up and turning her wedding dress into simple emerald green robes. She felt as if a weight had left her shoulders.

"What about... Potter?" Not that Severus wanted to talk about him but he needed to know how things were going to be and how she had left things. She grimaced at his question, knowing she had been a coward to just turn and run as she had. She owed him a conversation and the truth. That arrogant and bullying teenager had grown into a good man who deserved better than this.

"I might have left him standing waiting for me.." She caught the look of amusement in his eyes and smacked his arm. "It's not funny! I'm a terrible person."

He shook his head. "You aren't, you did what you thought was best. Even if he wont like it."

"I hope Remus got him to at least begin to understand..." Though she did not think that she particularly deserved that understanding. She caught the look on Severus' face at the mention of Remus. She knew about the incident where Sirius had all but lead him to his death, the absolute moron. "Don't pull that face, Sev. Remus was the one who told me I knew where I needed to be."

He considered this for a moment. "Perhaps the wolf deserves some consideration then," he decided flatly but she knew him better than that, he was thankful.

"I need to talk to James myself and explain..."

"Tomorrow," he said, cutting her off. He was not about to let her walk out there door until he had been able to truly accept and comprehend the fact that she was here and that she was his. He was still sort of convinced that he was dreaming.

Lily looked at him, searching his expression. The vulnerability that she found had her reaching for his hand and agreeing. "Tomorrow."

Tomorrow would be hell. But the rest of the day? That would be theirs.


	3. Chapter 3: Morning

**Author's Note:** I've been absolutely blown away by how many people have favourited and followed this story! And for the lovely reviewer who hoped Severus wasn't a Death Eater – well, here's your answer.

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**Chapter Three: Morning**

Lily woke up the next morning knowing that it was going to be a tough day. But for a moment, a single beautiful moment, all she felt was the joy of waking up beside the man she never should have walked away from. They had spent the whole night talking over everything that had happened in their time apart. He had told her some things that she knew could not have been easy to admit. She was so proud of him for that and for what he had done to change his life.

Though she had to admit it had been hard to listen to what had happened during their time apart, knowing he had been through all of that without her being there for him. She blamed herself so much for that, the guilt threatening to swallow her whole if she let it. But Severus had not let her say a word against herself for not being there at the time. In truth he would have been ashamed for her to see him that way.

* * *

"I assume you know about the wizard who calls himself a Dark Lord?" Severus had begun cautiously. Lily had tensed but nodded, terrified of where this was going to go. Was he about to tell her he had joined that madman?

"I was spending the summer after sixth year with Lucius and Regulus. We were at Malfoy Manor when Abraxas Malfoy summoned us to the sitting room, where we met him. He was.. incredibly charismatic, charming I suppose. He told us about his 'cause', said that he had heard good things about me.." Severus had paused, looking away from her in shame. Nobody had ever said such a thing about him before and she knew it, knew why he had been taking in by it.

Lily had held his hand to comfort him and show support. She did not want to interrupt him though, knowing he was struggling to want to tell her this.

"He made promises, things I could only have dreamed of. I was... tempted." Something in Lily made her want to panic at that thought but she knew that was not all of the story. "I think I might have joined him had I not seen how he treated his followers later on."

She had looked at him curiously for an explanation of his statement and he had obliged, though it made her sick to her stomach.

"The Dark Lord is rather fond of the Unforgivables, particularly Crucio."

That he had almost been tied to someone who did such things haunted her and she had held him tightly after that, as if letting him go might have doomed him to such a fate. They had fallen asleep together, still very much unable to let go of the comfort that they gave each other.

* * *

Lily felt sheer relief at the fact that she had not lost Severus to this Dark Lord, whoever he really was. That relief stayed with her, no matter how tough the next part of it was going to be. She had no idea what James was going to do or say but in the end this had to happen, she owed it to him to not be a coward.

"I'll come back when it's over," she said as she stood by the Floo. She knew there had to be a part of Severus that was worried about her not coming back, she had to reassure him that was not the case.

"I will be here," Severus replied, hating the part of him that was scared. But some of those fears were soothed when she gave him a kiss before throwing the powder into the Floo and clearing saying 'Potter manor' before stepping into the flames and disappearing from his sight. Now all he could do was wait.

* * *

Lily stepped out of the Floo into the sitting room at the place she had called her home. They had talked about moving somewhere smaller than his ancestral home, somewhere more cosy than the cold manor. But now she supposed all of that was entirely beside the point.

She found James out in the garden, sitting by the pond. He had dark circles under his eyes, clearly having not slept. Her heart ached, knowing she had done this to him and had been too much of a coward to deal with the consequences until today.

"What do you want, Lily?" he asked her, his voice harsh. He did not even bother to look at her.

"To explain, if you'll let me," she replied softly, sitting on the other half of the bench. The silence stretched out all around her for a few moments while he seemed to turn the thought over in his mind.

"Fine. Explain."

Lily winced at his tone but she deserved it so she did not complain. Instead she began to talk, letting her thoughts pass her lips in one jumble in the hopes he would even begin to understand what she had done and why. "I wasn't being fair to you, James. When I fell in love with you I hadn't let go of the person I loved before. In a way I suppose I never actually gave you all of myself. So when I was standing there about to marry you I just... couldn't condemn you to a life with someone who had done that." She sighed, it was a terrible explanation but she could not quite put into words what was on her mind.

James listened and sat in silence for a few moments before turning to look at her. It damn near broke her heart to see the sadness and resignation in his eyes. "You were never really mine, were you?" he asked her, obviously fighting to keep his tone as even as possible.

"Honestly? I don't know. I think I belonged somewhere else a long time before I realised it," she confessed.

"Remus said that," he replied with a sigh. "That you never meant for this to happen. He's too nice to lie." And wasn't that the truth. Remus did not lie to his friends, was honest to the point of being blunt when he needed to be.

"I didn't, I swear I'd never have chosen to hurt you," she replied, her voice shaking with the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. "I'm selfishly hoping we can be friends."

James looked away from her again, looking out over the pond and trying to figure out if he could give he what she was asking for. "One day," he decided. "Right now I'm not sure I'm enough of a good person to sit and talk and pretend I'm not bitter." But it was a start and Lily would take it.

"One day is more than enough," she said softly.

After leaving him to sit out in the garden with his thoughts, Lily went into the manor and began to pack. It went much faster using magic and she did not want to linger, it was not fair to invade James' space any longer. She shrunk the bags and put them in her pocket before heading back down to the Floo. She found James waiting for her.

"Tell him if he hurts you again I'll kill him."

No more needed to be said, they both knew who he was talking about and the fact that it was clear who she had run to. She gave him a weak smile and replied, "He wont." She trusted in that, more perhaps than anything else.

When she stepped out of the Floo into Severus' home she took a deep, calming breath. At least it was over. Now to figure out where the rest of her previously planned out life was going to go.


	4. Chapter 4: Snakes

**Chapter Four: Snakes**

The last person that Lily expected to be drinking tea with was Lucius Malfoy. Yet there she was, wondering if perhaps she was having some sort of a hallucination. She had looked at Severus like he was insane when he told her that she was invited along with him, that Lucius was not at all like the persona he had allowed the general public to see at Hogwarts. His father had eyes on him no matter where he was. But Abraxas had been dead three months now, giving Lucius freedom he had never known before.

He would never tell how his father had died. The official report was Dragon Pox but two people knew better. Two people had been responsible for his death in the end and neither felt bad about it. Not after Abraxas had used the Imperius Curse on his own son to bring him before the Dark Lord and have that brand put on his arm against his will. Lucius Malfoy was no man's slave and that was basically what all Death Eaters had become. He was certainly not slave to someone who, as far as he could tell, did not belong to one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Ridiculous.

Between the three people in that room they represented the three levels of blood purity: Pureblood, Halfblood and Muggleborn. Yet it would be a flip of a coin over which of the three of them would win in an all out duel. That was enough to make Lily Evans rather interesting to the blonde. It went against everything his deranged father had ever taught him.

Lily did not think that she had ever actually spoken to Lucius before, he had been the reigning prince of Slytherin during his school years but not one to engage in fights. When she thought about it she realised he had never actually done anything wrong as such that she could remember. Unlike Mulciber and Avery, who she was glad to learn were no longer in Severus' life.

Lucius had a rather smug look on his face that Lily could not help asking about and when she did he laughed.

"I was just thinking that your presence here must be causing my father to pitch a fit in the afterlife," he replied with a smirk, making Lily and Severus laugh. Though Severus was aware this was probably very true, Abraxas would be most displeased at having a Muggleborn in his home.

"Glad to be of service," Lily replied in amusement. It was funny how life could turn out and how very different members of the same family could be. Petunia was her opposite, as was Severus' father in comparison to him. To know that she could add Lucius Malfoy to this list as the opposite to his blood supremacist father was oddly comforting somehow.

It occurred to Lily that someone was missing from their gathering and found herself asking Lucius where Narcissa was. He winced at the question and the sigh from Severus told her that was something she should not have asked, though she did not know why.

"She is with her sister," Lucius replied carefully. He eyed Lily, trying to decide if he could trust her with truths that only two people in the whole of the world knew. Severus trusted her wholeheartedly so maybe, just maybe, he could put aside the mistrust that was ingrained in every Slytherin from the moment they took their seat at the table in the Great Hall.

"Narcissa and I.. we did not choose each other. In fact I'm sure I would have been her very last choice." It was a poorly kept secret in their generation's Pureblood circle that Narcissa had all but begged her father to betroth her to Selwyn. Instead she had been given to Lucius, no matter what either of them wanted.

"Why not divorce, now you're your own Head of House?" Lily asked. Perhaps she saw things too simplistically but she felt that he should at least have that option presented to him.

Lucius looked at her in surprise, having never considered this. Purebloods simply did not get divorced... Though he would not discount the option so readily. "It is an interesting idea. People would talk, of course.." he replied thoughtfully.

"People will always talk," she replied with a shrug. "They're talking about me right now. But in the end if you're happy then screw the court of public opinion."

The blonde wizard chuckled and glanced at Severus out of the corner of his eye. They needed no words for the simple message to be conveyed: this one is a keeper, don't let her go. It was a rare thing that someone spoke so plainly to Lucius and he found he rather enjoyed her company. If his sarcastic friend had a perfect match out there perhaps he had found her.

"It wouldn't be difficult, Lucius. There are no children." To Lily it sounded like Severus was speaking of there being no children to be upset by the divorce, but Lucius knew better. A Pureblood marriage could be broken off easily over the lack of an heir. Not the kindest of moves but if she gave him a hard time it was a card he could play.

"I will think about it," Lucius replied. It was certainly something he needed to consider; a shot at freedom and happiness that he had never thought might be his.

The topic of marriage had her thinking of James, remembering the anger and sadness in his eyes when she had last seen him. Something in her heart clenched. She hated that she had caused him pain. Severus caught the look on her face and knew her well enough to know what had put it there. He reached out and held her hand in his to comfort her, earning himself a smile for doing so. How was it that her smile still gave him the same butterflies as it had when they had been eleven years old?

"On a happier note, have you considered my offer, Severus?" Lucius asked, raising an eyebrow. Lily looked at Severus curiously for an explanation of what this offer had been.

"I was thinking of leaving Spinners End. Lucius offered to sell me one of the smaller Malfoy properties, to keep the location a secret." The Dark Lord was only going to take no for an answer for so long before he made a move, Severus knew that. He wanted a Potions Master and there were none in the country who had made waves in the community as Severus had by being the youngest to earn a Mastery in several decades.

"Somewhere big enough to have your own lab, I imagine," Lily replied playfully. No doubt he would have that in mind when looking at any potential new home.

"And room enough for a certain Gryffindor, perhaps?" Lucius added with a knowing smirk.

Severus tensed. He had not asked Lily that question yet, there had been little time. Would she run at the thought of moving so quickly after their time apart? He cautiously turned to look at her, surprised to see that little smile of amusement gracing her lips.

"Don't worry, Sev. I wont paint the place in red and gold."

The two of them both wondered the same thing: Had she just said yes to his unasked question?

Lucius smirked and sipped his tea, glad to see his friend taking the first steps towards the life that he deserved.


	5. Chapter 5: Runes

**Author's Note:** Sorry this took forever! Time got away from me for a week or so.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Runes**

As it happened, the choice of properties was an easy one. One look around Bracken Cottage was enough for Lily to fall in love and, as it had plenty of room in the magically expanded basement for a sizeable potions lab, Severus was more than happy to purchase it. Though he suspected that Lucius gave him far too kind of a deal on the property. He supposed that he should not complain about that, not when it would need furnishing and turning into a home after not being lived in for quite a while.

Between the two of them, Severus and Lily had soon put the place to rights. It still needed a bit of work here and there but the result of their hard work was a place that they could most definitely call home. Though their relationship had changed rapidly over such a short amount of time it felt completely natural to them both, as easy as breathing. This was how things were supposed to be, how they should always have been.

The greenhouse in the garden had become rather overgrown in its time without having someone there to care for it. But once it had been cut back and put back to its correct state, they found some interesting plants that had managed to thrive despite everything else. One in particular caught Lily's eye, a rare type of fanged geranium that had a rather reptilian feel to it. Its stems were scaled and it hissed in displeasure when anyone dared to get too close to it.

Much to her amusement the fanged geranium seemed rather fond of Severus and did not hiss at him even when he transferred it to a much larger pot. She enjoyed teasing him about it and the irony was not lost on him, considering she had rather the same effect on certain Slytherins. The fact that Lily and Lucius had begun to form a friendship seemed like a minor miracle to Severus, one that he was very pleased about. There remained only one other vital person in his life for him to hope that Lily might get along with.

That person arrived at Bracken Cottage when the new couple was taking a break from the work, sitting on the back porch of their home. Dark hair, grey eyes and a rather self-assured smile marked him as a Black. Lily would have known him to be Sirius' brother even if she had not seen him around Hogwarts during their time there and knew him as such. Regulus Black was the sort of person you could not help but pay attention to.

And he knew it.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Severus. Your new home seems to come with a lion," Regulus drawled, doing his best to hide the amusement that reflected in his eyes.

"Severus knows I wont bite. Not _him_ anyway," Lily replied as she looked up at Regulus with a raised eyebrow and a look of defiance. It had no malice behind it, only a promise that she could give as good as she got.

Regulus laughed at that, taking a seat with them. "I shall consider myself thoroughly warned then."

This was new to him. He had spent his whole life thinking that Muggleborns were beneath him. Why would they not be: his parents had told him that they were. Yet as he had grown older he began to wonder. He had made his mistakes in the name of making his parents proud, he had the Mark on his arm to prove it. But the madman who called himself a Dark Lord was not a lord of any kind. He had figured it out when Lucius had asked him once exactly which Pureblood family he thought that the Dark Lord came from. It did not take much research to find that he did not actually belong to any of them.

With his faith so completely shaken, Regulus had re-examined a lot of things that he had thought to be true. In the end he had come to the sickening realisation that not many of the ideals he had been raised to have were actually worth anything. All magic was worthy no matter who it came from or where that person had come into the world. The Mark burned as he was called but he did not answer, not any more.

Regulus was pleased when Lily gave him a smile, letting out a breath he had not realised he was holding. He caught Severus' eye and saw the smug look that was aimed at him. He had confessed to his friend that he was worried Lily would not accept his friendship considering how he had once been. Severus had promised that Lily was far more forgiving than any of them deserved, that he would get his chance. Apparently Severus knew her as well as he had thought he did.

"As it happens, I come bearing a gift," Regulus began, much happier now that moment was over. He pulled a shrunken object from his pocket and returned it to its correct size with his wand. The box was handed to Lily and when she opened it she recognised exactly what was inside. A set of runes carved into pieces of quartz crystal. Protection runes.

"If you bury them around the line of the wards they should add to the protection. Just in case." Though he would never be the type of person to express his emotions clearly he could do this. He could offer the best way to keep his friend safe.

Lily was up from her seat and wrapping her arms around Regulus before he knew what was happening. He tensed and then, slowly but surely, he wrapped his arms around her in return. When was the last time he had hugged someone? He couldn't really remember.

"Thank you," she said as she let him go, returning to her seat.

Regulus observed her in a rather stunned silence for a moment. Who would ever hug a Black like it was the most normal thing in the world? Only this witch, perhaps. "You are most welcome," he managed once he had gathered his composure once more.

"You carved them yourself?" Severus asked. He knew the answer to the question, but he saw no reason not to endear his friend to Lily a little more. It certainly could not hurt.

Regulus looked almost offended, rolling his eyes. "Of course. As if I would trust anyone else." Which was, by anyone's standards, a rather paranoid Slytherin brand of reasoning.

"Do you work with runes often?" Lily asked curiously, realising that she knew very little about Regulus as a person She supposed she could be forgiven for that, since their paths had rarely crossed before. But now she had a very good reason to want to know him better.

"When I can," he replied with a shrug. "You put a little of yourself into your carvings though." She understood what was being left unsaid, that he would not and could not do rune work for just anyone.

"Do you think you could show me, time permitting of course?" She had taken Ancient Runes at Hogwarts but this was something else entirely, the practical side that she had not truly considered.

"If I can pry you away from Severus, I wouldn't mind," Regulus replied with a genuine smile. Of course he was unable to resist teasing the pair. "Temporarily, of course," he added when Severus shot a mock glare his way, making him hold his hands up in surrender.

Lily laughed softly at the two of them. She had never really seen Severus around people he was comfortable with other than herself. Seeing this gave her a lot of hope and a feeling of contentment. If anyone deserved to be happy then it was Severus Snape, a man who had been through hell and back already in his life.

She swore to herself she would do everything she could to bring him such happiness.


	6. Chapter 6: Patronus

**Chapter Six: Patronus**

"Did you know that a person's Patronus can change?"

Severus turned to Lily with a raised eyebrow, unsure where this sudden topic of conversation had come from. "Yes..." he replied, waiting for her to explain whatever was on her mind. That smile told him it was something interesting at least.

"I wondered if mine had changed lately, so I decided to look. Care to guess what it is now?" Lily asked. She was excited to have found that her doe was gone, leaving something in its place that made her heart soar.

A person's Patronus reflected what gave them security, what they turned to in order to feel safe. Lily had only learned to produce one once she was in a relationship with James, her doe forming in reaction to the stag that represented James Potter. But now? Now her Patronus was the form it should always have been, she recognised that the moment she had seen the shape it had taken.

"A goldfish." Severus managed to keep his response deadpan, no matter how much the ridiculous notion amused him. Lily gasped in mock horror at his suggestion, melting away his facade and leaving behind a smirk.

"You wound me, Sev," she said with a dramatic sigh. "A goldfish indeed!"

"I could have said a flobberworm," he replied, smirking as she smacked his arm in response to his teasing. He had always known which buttons to press, though he was not inclined to make her genuinely angry.

"I'll have you know that it represents you, you ridiculous man."

That had him absolutely stunned. He had not thought that her Patronus would change in response to their new relationship, that it might take on a form that represented him as his own represented her. Though it did make him wonder if his would have also changed from the doe that had once mirrored her own.

Lily knew him well enough to read the look on his face, smiling softly in reaction to just how surprised he seemed. "For someone so intelligent you really don't see yourself or your importance very clearly," she told him, leaning in and kissing his cheek. Though she knew just why that was. Between his father and the Marauders his sense of self worth had been ground down into dust. She would have to see about fixing that.

Severus did not know what to say to that, which was rare for him. He had learned to have a retort for pretty much anything. And yet his witch stunned him to silence. It was true, he had not thought his presence in her life would have had such an impact that he might have influenced her Patronus. Something in his heart felt a little lighter, a little less weighed down by what life had chosen to throw at him in the past.

"I would like to see it," he managed eventually and of course she happily obliged.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A misty light left her wand, swirling and shifting until it took on its form. A beak opened in a silent scream of glory as the bird soared over the garden where the two were sitting. Lily smiled as she watched her Golden Eagle fly in front of them. The eagle symbolised freedom and the courage to look ahead. It was no surprise to her that this was the form her Patronus had chosen to take on. Severus was her freedom and her courage, as she knew she was his.

Severus watched the Patronus with an undeniable smile. A Golden Eagle. He could not resist seeing for himself if his own Patronus had changed now and as the incantation left his lips he watched the jet of light leave his wand. The doe was no more, a bird formed out of the light. Not a Golden Eagle like the one in front of them, it was something different. It took him a moment to recognise it as a Red Kite.

Patience, observation and vision of the way forward. Lily. Though the two forms did not match perfectly they were balanced out in such a way that it was more powerful that they were not the same. Her Patronus was him as his was her. That was a true sign that two people had found the person for them. Completion without one overtaking the other in personality or in magic.

Golden Eagle and Red Kite flew together for a moment before vanishing entirely, having detected no threat to protect against. Severus' hand found Lily's as he returned his gaze to her, his heart skipping a beat at the way she looked at him. He had been so sure he would never be looked at in such a way, with such love. Yet there he was getting everything that he had ever wanted.

"I think I must love you rather a lot, Severus Snape," Lily said to him, her voice soft and certainly with a tone of teasing familiarity.

"And I you, Lily Evans," he replied, not trusting his voice above more than a whisper.

They both felt it instantly, the tingle of raw magic weaving its way over them. It wrapped around the two of them, twisting and turning as it entwined the two of them in its light. Neither dared to move or speak as the woven cocoon of magic was completed before it burst into a brilliant golden light all around them like a thousand fireflies. Then it was gone.

"What just happened?" Lily whispered, almost not daring to speak.

"I don't know.." But he would find out. Something important had happened there, something that neither of them had intended or knowingly set in motion. But magic had risen up around them and had done.. something. All they had to do now was figure out what in the world that something might have been.

"Neither of us was raised around magic, not really.. maybe Lucius would know?" Lily suggested. He was surprised to hear her suggest his friend but it also gave him a lot of hope for the future and the friendship that might just be forming there. Lucius had an unenviable life in a loveless marriage, he wanted to at least be able to be there for him and have the most caring person he knew be by his side.

It did not take long to call Lucius through the Floo and soon enough he was stepping through into their sitting room. Once they explained what had happened to him they watched as he looked from Severus to Lily in complete surprise. He did not often let his emotions show to this degree but there was no hiding such a degree of surprise. This was huge and neither of them had a clue.

"That is... incredibly rare," Lucius began. "You don't hear of it much any more. The only couple I know of to have such an experience would be Arthur and Molly Weasley." The two were soulmates, anyone who saw them together knew it without a shadow of a doubt. This made Severus realise that what had happened must truly be significant.

"Well, are you going to enlighten us?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he viewed the blonde man in front of him. He wanted answers and was not feeling patient about it.

"The short version," Lucius began, unable to hide his smile. "Is that the oldest of magic recognised your bond and sealed it with its blessing. Among any circle of our society you are basically married and bonded for life. Congratulations." Somehow they had managed to invoke that magic that was usually only called upon in Pureblood marriage ceremonies, or had been before it fell out of favour due to revealing couples that were entirely unsuitable.

Lily and Severus looked at each other, shock melting away into smiles that held nothing but love. Magic itself has blessed their bond, their love. Who could really ask for more than that?


	7. Chapter 7: Bound

**Chapter Seven: Bound**

Lily had spent much of her time over the next few days researching what Lucius had told them. She had buried herself in rather ancient books on magic itself and the belief that magic was alive in its own way. The more she read the more she was willing to believe it. Hell, she had experienced it for herself as magic had wound its way around the two of them and cemented the bond between them. She had felt it, it had been real.

Molly had been the source of a lot of answers that books had been unable to give her. She had not realised how much of Wizarding culture was passed on verbally rather than being written down. It did not surprise Lily why many Muggleborns went back to the Muggle world with a feeling that they fit in much better there. It made her wonder how much difference it would make if there was some sort of class at Hogwarts to teach them all the things that children from magical families were raised knowing by heart.

Lucius had been right, Molly and Arthur were bound by magic in the same way she and Severus were. It was rare, even Molly could not think of another couple who had experienced it in their own generation. But she had confirmed what the books had told her, that magic was indeed an entity in its own right and chose to rise up to witness the bonding of true soulmates. With or without magic, soulmates were rare in their own right.

Lily closed the book she had been reading, setting it on the table beside her armchair in front of the fireplace. She found herself smiling as she thought about how much her life had changed just because she had been brave enough to admit to what she wanted. Though there was still a lot to deal with in terms of the fallout from her decision she had to allow herself to be happy. Dwelling on it would not make anything right.

Life with Severus was so easy, so natural. Though they had their separate views on things and naturally could not agree on every single thing, they were more than capable of talking it out. Though she had to admit that when she could talk him around her to point of view she counted it as a win.

She got up to return the book to its rightful place on the shelf when a hot pain seared through her hand, making her drop the book onto the floor. She looked down at her hand but could not see any reason for the pain. So what could... Severus! Lily's mind went to the one cause of the pain that made sense to her and set off running. She knew where to find him, in his potions lab beneath the house.

Severus looked at her in surprise when she burst into the room as he stood with his hand held under a stream of cold water that poured from the tip of his wand. "What's wrong?" he asked her with a frown, unable to understand how frantic she was.

"Your hand.. you burned it?" she asked, her mind racing. She had felt that pain as if it had been her own, a shock of burning pain in a hand without a single mark on it.

"I did," Severus replied, wondering where this was going. She seemed frantic and perhaps a little bit in shock. He was a Potions Master, burns were par for the course.

"I felt it." The last thing he had been expecting was for her to say that and he searched her expression. She had felt it? How was that possible? "I don't know if it's the bond, I think it must be, but I swear I felt it as if I'd burned my own hand."

Severus' mind was whirring at this revelation. "We should test this." Ever the Potions Master he felt the need to test out the theory right away to see if it was accurate or not. He picked up a small knife used to dissect various potions ingredients. He turned his back to Lily so she would not see exactly where he touched the knife to his skin, just to be sure her mind did not play tricks on her.

She felt the sharp prick of a knife's point against her left thumb, though nothing was touching her. "That was your left thumb," she told him and he turned around to look at her with such surprise. It had been.

To know that this was part of the bond between them, to feel each other's pain, had Severus' heart aching. While it was wonderful to know that they shared something so special it also terrified him. What if the Dark Lord ever got his hands on him? Should the madman begin to throw the Cruciatus curse his way then Lily would feel every moment of it and he absolutely could not have that. He had to protect her.

Lily saw the barely controlled panic in his eyes and sighed softly. She knew him, she knew what it was that he feared so desperately. She walked over to him and held his hand. "We can keep each other safe, Sev. You're not in this alone, please don't ever forget that." He did not have to handle this alone like he had with so much in his life already.

He tried his best to keep calm, to not panic over the thought of her being hurt in any way. At least they had the added protection of the runes that Regulus had given them. He would have to find the proper way to thank him for that.

"I know." And honestly he did. He did not have to be alone any more. "I'm afraid old habits die hard." Though he knew neither Lucius nor Regulus would appreciate the knowledge he had considered himself alone in some ways despite having their unwavering friendship. Well, they did not need to know in that case.

"Well if those old habits creep in, just remember who my Patronus represents. And who is reflected in yours." Lily smiled softly as she wrapped her arms around him, giving him the hug he had not realised he needed. Severus hugged her back, resting his chin on top of her head. He would always be glad that she knew him better than he knew himself sometimes.

"I will, my terrifying Red Kite," he replied with a little smile of amusement. If he was to be bound to someone so irrevocably then there was absolutely nobody he would rather it be than her.

"Don't you forget it. Red Kite's bite, you know," she could not resist telling him, trying not to laugh.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Severus chuckled. At least his life would always be interesting now.


End file.
